Volume 2, Number 3
Issued July 2002
Edited by ECCO--the Estero Concerned Citizens Organization
For
further information, to provide information or to add names to our
mailing list,
Email
Don Eslick at
doneslick@worldnet.att.net or call him at 949-4050
Estero Development Activities during
July 2002
August Opportunities for Citizen
Participation In Protecting Estero's Quality of Life
|
Date |
Time |
Event |
Location |
|
Monday, August 5th |
1:30 p.m. |
Board of County Commissioners
Discussion of County Proposal for Funding Expanded Roadway
Landscaping. |
Commission Chambers, 2120 Main Street,
2nd Floor, Ft. Myers |
|
Tuesday, August 6th |
6:30 p.m. |
Estero Community Planning Panel Meeting
& County Parks and Recreation Discussion of Estero Community
Park Master Plan |
South County Regional Library, Three
Oaks Blvd just north of Corkscrew |
|
Monday, August 12th |
6:00 p.m. |
Estero Community Planning Panel Meeting |
South County Regional Library, Three
Oaks Blvd just north of Corkscrew |
|
Wednesday, August 14th |
9 a.m. |
Grand Opening of the George Horne Fire
Station |
US 41 and County Road just north of
Corkscrew Road |
|
Tuesday, August 20th |
9 a.m. |
Continued Hearing -- Miromar Design
Center Rezoning |
Hearing Examiner's Hearing Room, 1500
Monroe St., 2nd Floor, Ft. Myers |
The County's response to Estero's
efforts to increase county funding for roadway landscaping projects
in Estero has resulted in County Manager Don Stillwell proposing the
development of a countywide matching grant program for roadway
landscaping that would provide an opportunity for Estero to compete
and benefit. At the July 10th meeting of the Board he
committed to presenting a proposal to the Board of County
Commissioners at their August 5th Management and Planning
meeting.
After the meeting
ECCO suggested that the County meet with Estero's community
organizations and developers to ensure that the County proposal is
workable in Estero. The County agreed and a productive meeting was
held on Wednesday, July 24th focusing primarily on how
attractive roadway landscape designs can be created with minimum
future landscape maintenance costs and what new techniques might be
developed to facilitate private sector matching for enhanced
landscape maintenance.
The staff report
recommends an increase of $2 million in roadway landscaping funds
for the coming fiscal year. In addition the report indicates a
willingness by the County to consider using some of these funds for
"intensification of core level installation …perhaps more trees or
taller trees or even some strategic shrubs where mowing is already a
problem…", a matching program for enhanced roadway landscaping and
"yet to be defined options". The staff report recommends that all of
these options be considered and deliberated by the Roadway Landscape
Advisory Committee with their recommendations then being considered
by the BOCC in time for budget approval late in September.
Key Excerpts from
the Report follow:
"
Increase in core level of landscaping-- Staff recommends that $2
million in ad valorem funds be added in FY 02/03 as a one-time
budget increase to the Roadway Landscape CIP Project #6024-65. Staff
also suggests that the Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee be asked
to recommend options on ways to use the added funds to increase the
core level of landscaping, including consideration of the County
fully funding the installation costs for enhanced levels with a
private commitment to fund the added maintenance costs."
"Current policy in regards to landscaping major
roads (arterials and collectors) calls for the County to install and
maintain a “core” level of landscaping, defined by the LeeScape
Master Plan as canopy trees (shade, palm and accent/flowering trees)
with irrigation. The plan, adopted and approved by the BOCC, allows
for a more intensive tier of landscaping known as an “enhanced”
level, defined as the addition of shrubs, groundcovers and possibly
enhanced turf to the core level. Under the current program, the
enhanced level would be achieved by private citizens or groups
partnering with the County on installation and maintenance costs."
"The use of additional funds to increase the
core level of landscaping could be accomplished in a number of
ways. The Master Plan identifies 18 road segments as the highest
priority, and as noted, the available funding only allows the County
to pursue about 2 segments a year. Additional funding could allow
more high priority road segments to be done at the core level.
Another option could be an intensification of the core level
installation. For budgeting purposes, the Master Plan assumes 19
trees per 600 linear feet for core level median landscaping; perhaps
more trees or taller trees or even some strategic shrubs where
mowing is already a problem could be considered. As a third option,
the Master Plan suggests that the County can use the Roadway
Landscape funds to provide up to 20% of the core level installation
costs toward the enhanced level installation costs, at the request
of private parties, with the rest of the installation costs and the
additional maintenance costs to be covered by the private parties.
The policy could be revised, with the additional funds paying 100%
of the installation costs for enhanced level landscaping on County
roads where private entities agree to cover the added maintenance
costs. This option would be generally consistent with the wishes of
the Estero community. These and other yet-to-be-defined options may
require changes to the Master Plan recommendations, and should be
deliberated and considered by the Roadway Landscape Advisory
Committee, with the Committee’s recommendations brought back to the
Board for formal approval."
The staff
recommendations, if supplemented appropriately by the Roadway
Landscape Advisory Committee and adopted by the BOCC, would be a
significant indication that the County wants to help Estero achieve
its community goals as identified by our community plan.
Estero's
community organizations and developers will watch with interest the
response of the BOCC to the staff recommendations on August 5th.
Thereafter they plan to meet and decide how best to proceed should
the Roadway Landscape Advisory Committee be directed to debate and
refine the proposal in order to insure that Estero can compete
effectively for these funds.
The Estero
roadways that will be "core" landscaped soon and are the best
targets for immediate funding of upgraded or intensified landscaping
are:
- Corkscrew Road from US
41 to I-75 -- installation of "core" landscaping is scheduled to
begin in August or September,
- Three Oaks Parkway from
Williams Road to Corkscrew Road -- landscape design for this
one-mile segment is scheduled to be completed in August. Contract
document preparation, bidding, contractor selection and negotiation
will be completed by year end with "core" installation to begin
early in 2003,
- US 41 from Bonita
Springs to Corkscrew Road -- The contractor selection process is
underway and construction of the road is expected to start in
September or October. Funding for landscape design has been approved
and the contract between the State and the County is being reviewed.
"Core" landscape installation is expected to be installed in the
spring-summer of 2005.
At its July 2nd
meeting the ECPP discussed various options for the structure and
role of the Community Appearance Committee (CAC) ranging from the
ECPP acting as the CAC to a completely independent CAC appointed by
the ECPP. The predominant view was that the Planning Panel should
continue to meet with developers on zoning requests, but that the
CAC should act independently in the review of Development Orders.
Panel members would be free to attend CAC meetings as members of the
public.
It was suggested
the CAC might consist of 9 members with a minimum of 4 being
professionals – landscape architects and architects, professional
planners, engineers, etc. making certain that a majority of the CAC
are Estero residents.
The LDC amendments approved by the
County Commission require only that the developer provide county
development staff with a report of the Estero meeting, but the panel
concluded that the CAC should also file a report with the County
staff. It was also suggested that the developer furnish the CAC and
the ECPP with a copy of its report before submitting it to the
county.
Finally the Panel concluded that a CAC
job description should be prepared for the ECPP's approval and that
the job description be used to advertise the positions and to invite
applications and resumes.
Dan DeLisi, the Panel's planning
consultant, reported that he had begun work on additional Land
Development Code (LDC) changes to be submitted for consideration in
the County's Fall Cycle. These changes would include:
- Higher signage standards
for all of Estero, and
- An Overlay Zoning
District for US 41.
- DeLisi also suggested that during this
cycle the ECPP should ask the County to extend the approved
Corkscrew Overlay to include the area surrounding the proposed Sandy
Lane extension south of Corkscrew Road.
At the July 24th meeting of
the ECPP Dan DeLisi summarized the changes included in the Cycle
2--2002 LDC draft proposal to be reviewed and approved by the Panel
for immediate submittal to the County.
The proposed signage requirements were
based upon standards recently developed by County planning staff for
use by the City of Bonita Springs on Bonita Beach Road. The
standards require that signage must provide for safe and easy
identification of businesses and other establishments while
enhancing, not detracting from, the aesthetic quality of the Estero
Community. One monument sign along any street that provides access
to a site will be permitted. Signs that fit within the
architectural frame or within the sign band of the storefront are
permitted. If approved by the BOCC the standards will prohibit
billboards, pole or pylon signs, digital signs, electronic signs,
balloons or banners and off-site advertising signs in Estero.
Once these additional LDC changes have
been submitted to the County they will be reviewed by county
planning staff and then be subject to hearings by several county
advisory committees before being debated, amended and (hopefully)
approved by the BOCC.
Housing construction in Estero
continued to rebound in June. During the month another 191 housing
units were permitted in Estero-- the 10th highest month
since the beginning of 2000, thirty (30) months ago. As September 11th
recedes into the background housing permits in Estero are quickly
returning to normal. While only 292 housing units were permitted in
the first quarter of the year, units permitted in the second quarter
increased to 498, a 71% increase.
The value of new
residential units permitted in Estero during June exceeded
$31,700,000. This is nearly 40% of the monthly total for
unincorporated Lee County. Estero's share of unincorporated Lee
County's total residential building value has risen throughout the
year from 19% January and to 39.8% in June.
Year to date the
value of residential building permits in Estero is more than double
that of Bonita Springs, $130.4 million to $59.6 million. On the
other hand Bonita leads Estero by a wide margin in the building
value of commercial development, $40.9 million to $15.6 million.
The ECPP and the county officials responsible for the design and
construction of this
65 acre park have scheduled a presentation of
the alternative park master plans to the community on Tuesday,
August 6th at 6:30 p.m. This is a key meeting inasmuch as
the Master Plan will guide the county throughout the phased
construction of the park over the next several years. At the meeting
both the ECPP and the public will have an opportunity to ask
questions and make suggestions regarding the master plan layout and
design.
After the meeting
the park planners will make the necessary changes and present the
Master Plan to the BOCC for their final approval seven weeks later
on Tuesday, September 24th. Thereafter detailed design,
contracting and construction can begin on the park.
Simon Suncoast (now "Coconut Point")
Mall and Mixed Use Development
(on the east
side of US 41 from Williams Road to Coconut Road)
After
a long delay the Hearing Officer's report was released just as this
edition went to press. Thus next month's report will detail the
status of this important project and the outstanding issues still
facing the community.
US 41 Between
Old 41 and Corkscrew Road
The low bidder for this six-laning project is Ajax Paving. FDOT is
in the process of finalizing the contract with Ajax at this time.
Construction is still expected to begin in September or October with
completion expected in mid-2004.
US 41 Between
Corkscrew Road and San Carlos Boulevard
Resurfacing began on this
4-lane segment of US 41 during July. This $1.4 million project is
expected to be completed later this year in November. This segment
of US 41 will be widened to six-lanes several years from now unless
accelerated by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), but
unquestionably will be the last segment between Naples and Fort
Myers to be widened.
US 41 Between
Old 41 and Corkscrew Road
FDOT has accelerated $60,000 to the present fiscal year (2002-03) so
that the landscape plan for the Estero portion of this road segment
can begin soon. In addition the State has drafted an agreement with
Lee County so that the County can contract with a landscape
architect firm to prepare the landscape plan and so FDOT can pay the
County for this work when it is completed. The County has begun to
review the draft contract and is expected to resolve any questions
with the state shortly.
In addition FDOT
is seeking to accelerate the remaining $644,000 now budgeted for
roadway landscaping for this segment by two years from the 2006-07
fiscal year to 2004-05. If these funds are accelerated this roadway
segment is expected to be "core" landscaped early in 2005.
Some of Estero's
Pending Rezoning
Proposals
Estero is
experiencing a higher level of rezoning applications than at any
time in the recent past. At least seven applications are at various
stages of approval; all of them contain some commercial property;
and most of them are located near Corkscrew Road and I-75. The
following sections provide some detail about three of the most
recent applications.
On July 17th the Public
Hearing on this major Estero project began before Chief Hearing
Officer Diana M. Parker. The project includes a
400,000 square foot
design center, a 14,500 square foot drug store, 36,200 square feet
of office space and a 125 room hotel all situated on about 19 acres
of land immediately east of I-75 on the south side of Corkscrew
Road.
The developer has
worked closely with all of Estero's community organizations and the
ECPP in planning this project. Both the Estero Chamber of Commerce
and the ECPP testified in support of the project at the hearing.
A review of the
Department of Planning staff report indicates that there are several
outstanding issues that the Hearing Officer will need to address.
They are:
- Retention of an existing
billboard located in the northwest corner of the property along
I-75;
- The applicant's request
for an Interstate Highway Interchange area sign that staff does not
believe is appropriate for the requested uses;
- Staff recommendation for
a Type F buffer -- includes a solid wall or berm and solid wall not
less than 8 feet in height -- along the southern boundary of the
property adjacent to a Stoneybrook residential area; and
- The obligation of the
entire Development of Regional Impact (DRI), of which this request
is a small part, to provide or contribute to affordable housing.
The hearing was
continued until August 20 to permit the applicant, staff and the
public to present evidence and testimony regarding the affordable
housing issue plus rebuttal and legal arguments.
At the July
24th meeting of the ECPP David McKee gave the Panel an
overview of this Limetree Partners project proposal that seeks to
rezone 3.3 acres on the southwest corner of River Ranch Road and
Corkscrew Road. The proposed project seeks 54,000 square feet of
commercial and retail located in several buildings to be constructed
on the site.
The project would not include any fast food restaurants, gas
stations or convenience stores or strip malls. Any restaurants
include on the site would be of a high quality sit-down type, and
the panel suggested without outdoor seating. Possible uses include
an Assisted Living Facility in the rear of the property.
The developer is seeking a deviation for an entrance off Corkscrew
Road closer to River Ranch Road than county standards permit.
Panelists suggested that the only entrance should be off River Ranch
Road, but if a Corkscrew Road entrance is permitted an entrance lane
should be required and the entrance should be placed as far west of
River Ranch Road as possible.
The ECPP was also concerned about a number of the proposed uses
adjacent to a residential area.
The developer had reviewed some, but not all, of the recently
adopted Estero Community Plan and related LDC changes applicable to
the property. He indicated that he would review the other changes
and discuss the Panel's recommendations with the developer before
preparing the report he must file with the county on this meeting.
He further agreed to furnish the Panel with a draft of the report
for comment before submitting it to the County.
WCI and the
Hyatt Corporation are
seeking three minor changes in the existing zoning for this 300 plus
unit timeshare project now under construction about one-half mile
north of Coconut Road near Estero Bay. The changes include: ·
- Authorize a
third sign to be added to an existing sign wall located at the
entrance to the road leading to the Raptor Bay Golf Course, the
timeshare units and their amenities. The signs are
architecturally appealing and blend in nicely with the
surrounding area.
- Extend the
life of the existing time share sales center from 3 to 10 years,
the estimated sell out period. The sales center has an
attractive "Old Florida" design and has been constructed with
permanent materials.
- Permit sales
of alcoholic beverages exclusively to residents of the timeshare
units from a package sales store located in the timeshare
clubhouse. Sales to the general public will not occur because of
gate restricted access to the time share property.
WCI is expected
to present this request to the ECPP at it August meeting before
finalizing its rezoning application with the county.
